Coming to terms with this situation

I woke up to the sound of Layla by Eric Clapton, a tune I used to be familiar with, but haven't heard in a while. I opened my eyes, seeing a ceiling that was familiar but not my own, and immediately stood up, looking around.

I'm really in Sarah's room...

"Hmmm..." I heard a familiar voice next to me, Sarah stretching as she was waking up.

She opened her eyes, slowly at first, but instantly gasped as soon as she saw me. "E-Ed?"

I awkwardly scratched my head. "Y-yeah... You... invited me to sleep in your bed, remember?"

"W-what happened last night... It wasn't a dream?" She was staring at me, her eyes wide open.

I sighed and freed the spines. "I wish it was, but no... It's real."

It took a moment for her to process everything, but she then spoke quietly. "I can't believe it... Monsters are real... and you became one..."

I looked down and grit my teeth but she quickly came to hold my hand. "S-sorry! I didn't mean it this way. I know you're not a monster, Ed. I-I just didn't know how else to describe it..."

She sat on the edge of the bed. "I... I'm just stunned... Last night, I was more relaxed thanks to the beers, but now, it's really starting to sink in." She then looked back at me. "Although, it doesn't invalidate what I said. You're the nicest guy I know, Ed. I trust you, even if you became a... what was it called again?"

"A skinwalker."

"Right, a skinwalker." She glanced away briefly. "Also... To be honest, I've been intrigued ever since you told me about it..."

"Intrigued?"

"I mean, you know I've always loved fantasy stories, and I just learnt that you are now a being that could straight-up be coming from one of those. How could I not be intrigued?" I could hear a bit of excitement in her voice even if she was trying to tone it down.

I chuckled slightly. "I suppose. Maybe I would have felt the same way had the roles been reversed."

Sarah smiled. "Right? Now, let's eat something, I'm getting hungry."

"Alright."

We went to the living room, Sarah uncovering her birds and letting them free like she often did during mornings.

"Morning, my babies~" She said as they both flew to perch on her shoulder.

I tentatively tried to approach a finger but gave up when I saw them glaring at me, fluffing up their feathers and opening their beaks, trying to appear menacing. They looked far more cute than menacing in my opinion.

"They still don't like me, huh?"

Sarah giggled. "Can't really help there, unfortunately. Once they choose a human to latch onto, they rarely accept someone else to touch them."

She became pensive. "I wonder if they'd accept you should you try to wear me. Just how much 'me' would these abilities make you?"

I blushed slightly at the idea of wearing her, it was still so alluring for my skinwalker side."I-I don't know. From what Dahlia explained, I would fully become you, and would have your memories and personality... In fact, I... I already had your memories when I regained consciousness last night."

"You saw my memories?" She asked while looking back at me. "It must be so weird to experience another person's memories..."

I nodded shyly. "I experienced a lot of your life in a very short time. It was very... trippy..."

"I can imagine."

We started to eat breakfast and talked more. We both still had a few questions for each other now that we could think with a clear mind.

"So... When you mentioned me wearing one of your coworkers last night, were you serious?" I asked first.

Sarah looked away and giggled awkwardly. "Well, I might have said that without really thinking about it, but we do need to find a way to satiate these urges you apparently have, and it seemed like a good idea."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that it? Are you on bad terms with your coworkers? Because it seems strange that you'd allow me to do something like this to them."

"I am on good terms with most of them." She replied, slightly embarrassed.

"The key word being that most, I assume?"

"Fine, fine, my reasons aren't purely selfless. When I said that last night, I was thinking of a coworker a bit older than me, one that is already a full-fledged professor. We're not exactly on bad terms but they're fairly strict and traditional and sometimes criticise the way I teach my classes, which I find annoying. I thought that you being them for a bit would be beneficial for the both of us. We could be together at college, you could see how it's like to be a professor and satiate these urges, and I would get some peace and also see how your abilities work."

"Hmm, I see..."

"If you need an alibi to give Claire for tonight, we can say that you stayed with me again. We don't need to hide the fact that we're getting back together."

At the mention of Claire, I looked down. "Maybe... I still don't know what to tell her..."

Sarah put her hand on mine. "I am certain that Claire will accept you, don't worry."

"I hope so."

She smiled at me. "Come on, believe in your sister, Ed. From the two times we've met, it's clear to me that she loves you more than anything else. You becoming a skinwalker won't change anything between you as long as you stay true to yourself."

"I'll think about it more during the day, but... when I'll tell her, could you accompany me?"

"Of course. I did accompany a few friends to do coming-outs in the past, I know how hard it can be to be truthful to people you care about. Although I know that the situation is a bit different."

I chuckled. "Thanks. I'm so glad to have you by my side, Sarah."

She giggled. "Well, you saved me in the past, and now it's my turn to do the same and help you however I can."

We finished eating, with me feeling more at peace, even if I still looked sickly pale and was freezing due to the cold. I noticed that my phone's battery had died during the night and went to charge it while Sarah took a shower and got ready for work.

When I turned it on, I saw a few missed calls as well as a dozen messages from Dahlia, and one message from Claire. I read Claire's message first. She simply told me that she was leaving for work, and hoped that I had fun with Sarah. I replied, telling her that we did have a good evening together, and wished her a good day.

As for Dahlia, she sent a few messages to check on me. She was apparently worried about me, asking how I was and apologising for her outburst of yesterday, saying that she truly regretted it. I didn't really know how to reply. I hadn't forgiven her for what she did, but her worries and regrets seemed genuine, at least on text.

"What are you doing?"

Sarah came back while I was thinking, sporting a more casual outfit than yesterday, consisting of a pair of slim jeans, knee-high leather boots, and a black blouse.

"Trying to think of how I should reply to that." I said while showing her the texts.

"Hmm, she seems fairly different from how I imagined her, although I did tell you that she had a thing for you. Maybe you should try to meet with her again? We could ask more questions about your condition."

I took notice of what she said. "We? You want to come with me?"

She nodded, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "This discovery ignited a thirst for knowledge within me, I want to learn more. If skinwalkers are real, are other fantastical creatures real too? Like vampires or ghosts? Maybe she would know."

"Huh, I didn't think of that... But that's indeed a possibility..."

It was a bit chilling to imagine other creatures roaming around. I definitely didn't want to cross paths with a werewolf or a vampire if they truly existed.

"I won't prevent you from coming with me, but be careful, alright? Don't stay too close to her."

"I'll stay next to you." She said while hugging my arm. "You'll protect me if anything happens, right?"

"Right."

I sent Dahlia a text, asking to meet at the same place as yesterday, before Sarah's classes started. She had first planned to use an hour to focus on her PhD beforehand but decided that it was more important.

Unlike the last time I messaged her and where I received a bunch of emojis as an answer, she replied more normally. "Okay, I'll be waiting. I'm glad that you're okay."

Sarah and I left her flat shortly after, on our way to the campus to meet with Dahlia.

"So, you were pretty vague about this coworker of yours. Can you tell me more?" I asked while we were in the car.